Author: paulinemasson

By Pauline Masson – Developer Mike Gallagher found himself in the middle of a bureaucratic head scratcher Tuesday Oct 24, when he asked the Planning and Zoning Commission to waive his responsibility to construct curbs, gutters and sidewalks at his new development on Indian Trails Road. P&Z commissioners said the improvements were set by ordinance when the Board of Aldermen approved the Nottingham Ridge subdivision and street improvements with no waivers in 2016 and the Planning and Zoning Commission could … Continue reading “P&Z Says Request to Waive Sidewalks In Development Already Approved by Ordinance Is Out of Their Hands“

By Pauline Masson – Here’s a hometown story to warm hearts and minds. Veteran animal rescuer Mary Galati has adopted a litter of eight abandoned Husky Labrador mix pups, two male and six female, and she is hoping to find permanent homes for them before winter sets in. They are eight months old, spayed, well fed and healthy. They are mostly golden to light tan in color. They live outside and Mary is worried that they need homes soon. She … Continue reading “Local Dog Rescuer Worries that Winter is Looming and Threatens Her Most Recent Orphans”

By Pauline Masson –  When it comes to Halloween in Pacific, forget spooky stories and scary stalkers. For the past twenty years, one man – who more closely resembles Santa Claus than a ghost or goblin – has reinvented the best memories of his childhood into an ever-growing phantasmagoria of Halloween that staggers the imagination. This year, 2022 there are 100 lighted, waving creatures, from an international diaspora of Halloween ideas, in Dan McClain’s yard at the corner of South … Continue reading “Fantastic Monsters and Friends Welcome Trick or Treaters to Annual Halloween Party at Dan McClain’s House on Payne Street”

By Pauline Masson – If you would like see how a sleepy little river town can be reinvented as a modern high tech, high toned, tourist Mecca, go to Augusta. When my husband Bob and I decided to spend Sunday afternoon there I was just looking for a ride in the sunshine after a six-month bout of long COVID. I certainly had no thought of writing a travel blurb. But when what has transpired in Augusta, I couldn’t resist. I had … Continue reading “Augusta MO and its Wineries Reinvented Like a Setting for an Epic Movie”

By Pauline Masson – Barbara Alt’s surprise “keep your enemies closer,” speech at the September 20 board of aldermen meeting may have turned the tide for residents of Candlewick Lane, who for the past three months – and for the most part – have opposed her family’s request to rezone their property. Facing the board of aldermen as they considered a measure crucial to her family’s future but opposed by her neighbors, Barb Alt made an astonishing request that may … Continue reading “Surprise Petitioner’s Speech May Have Turned the Tide On Candlewick Lane Gate“

By Pauline Masson – In a four-three vote, with the mayor breaking a tie, aldermen Andy Nemeth, Jerry Eversmeyer and Rick Presley voted to deny a request from new alderman Scott Lesh for a quarterly report on city revenue and expenditures. The action took place at the Oct. 4 board of aldermen meeting, with perhaps half a dozen persons in attendance. Lesh said he needed the information because he feels uninformed when he is asked to approve a large expenditure … Continue reading “Mayor Breaks First Tie to Shut Out New Alderman’s Request for Quarterly Financial Report”

By Pauline Masson – Fairytale and folk lore aficionados may recall the whimsical Danish tale The Emperor’s New Clothes. In the Hans Christian Anderson story, a narcissistic emperor is promised a magnificent, albeit invisible, set clothes by a pair of swindlers. As the emperor stands perfectly still while his dressers pretend to slide new articles of clothing onto his body, the hoaxers exclaims how magnificent the emperor looks in his new suit. As a result the vain emperor blissfully parades … Continue reading “Homeless in Pacific ~ The Emperor’s New Clothes”

By Pauline Masson –  In their lists of Civil War battles, mainstream historians left no record of a Battle of Pacific. But three generations of Pacific families hold onto the stories their grandparents told of the Civil War soldiers who came here to guard the Pacific Railroad, form military regiments, train, recover from wounds in military hospital – and – on October 1, 1864, to fight. In the early morning hours of that day a rag tag horde of poorly … Continue reading “Battle of Pacific, October 1, 1864 / Kept Alive in Stories Told by Grandparents”

By Pauline Masson – Who knew that a battle over rezoning a piece of land that had everybody questioning everybody else’s motives would morph into an appeal for help for rezoning opponents and for Pacific’s most unconnected residents – the homeless? Barb Alt caught everybody off guard at the Sept. 20 board of aldermen meeting. In a brief but heartfelt appeal she argued that a little compassion could bring out the best in city leaders. Why not do the right … Continue reading “Bringing Out the Best / Candlewick Residents & Homeless Get Help from Unexpected Corner“

By Pauline Masson – Citing “probable” zoning violations on a property at 313 East Orleans, owned by local builder Ray Gullet, Police Chief Scott Melies asked aldermen to deny Gullet a permit to build a new storage building on a different property. In an unusual series of events Melies made the request at the September 20 board meeting as aldermen considered Gullet’s application for a conditional use permit to construct a storage building at 210 South Third Street. Before addressing … Continue reading “Police Chief Targets Builder / Tries to Squash Building Permit / Cites “Probable” Violations on Another Property”